900 more in Libby may be ill

November 10, 2000

tion.montana

October 25, 2000

Environment

Associated Press

KALISPELL _ As many as 15 percent of the Libby residents and former

residents who were tested may be diagnosed with asbestos-related lung

disease, the state's top medical expert said this week.

The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has been

screening residents and former residents for three months to determine the

extent of asbestos exposure from the former W.R. Grace Co. vermiculite mine.

Roughly 6,200 people will have undergone chest X-rays and lung-function

tests by the time testing wraps up Nov. 2.

State medical officer Spence estimated the screening program could

reveal disease in as many as 900 Libby residents and former residents.

Spence based his prediction on the number of people screened who showed

immediate signs of asbestos-related diseases. Those who showed symptoms of

asbestosis, mesothelioma or lung cancer were notified by telephone. Other

patients are waiting for a written report.

The new cases will be in addition to about 400 Libby-area residents who have

been diagnosed and treated by Dr. Alan Whitehouse, a Spokane internal

medicine and pulmonary disease specialist.

National news reports last November said close to 200 people have died from

lung disease linked to asbestos exposure at the mine.

The ATSDR will release preliminary test data Nov. 1.

" Our report won't include any assessment and won't necessarily provide a

relationship to asbestos, " division director Lybarger said.

" We'll have some very crude demographic statistics and magnitude of

numbers. "

Screening data will be released to the public incrementally, but a formal

analysis won't be ready until next year. The agency also has analyzed death

records from the Libby area and will release the results of that study in

December.

As of Oct. 17, the ATSDR had screened 5,377 people, and 800 were still

waiting for tests. The total is expected to exceed 6,200, more than double

the number the agency expected.

A weeklong screening began Monday in Elko, Nev., where 68 former Libby

residents are being tested

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